Chapter 5

According to the old Taoist priest, when he found Fang Yi at the door of the Taoist temple, Fang Yi was completely naked, without even a swaddling cloth to cover his body.

At that time, the only thing on Fang Yi was the pendant hanging around his neck, which he was trying to swallow, his little face turning red. If the old Taoist priest had not discovered him a bit later, Fang Yi might not even be alive now.

However, the old Taoist priest did not seem to be very interested in the bone pendant. Although he told Fang Yi that the pendant was found on him, he never allowed Fang Yi to wear it. This made the young Fang Yi very curious, and he eventually found out the origin of the pendant through indirect inquiries.

One day after drinking, the old Taoist priest told Fang Yi that this pendant, slightly larger than a thumbnail and carved with simple lines, was actually a Buddhist ritual object, and a special one at that, known in Tibetan as a kapala.

A kapala refers to prayer beads or ritual objects made from human bones. Among all religions, only the Vajrayana school of Buddhism uses them.

Vajrayana, also known as the True Word School, is one of the schools of Buddhism, prevalent in Tibet and Qinghai. Due to its highly organized spells, rituals, and the worship of the principal deity, it has always had a mystical characteristic.

Vajrayana ritual objects are often made from human bones, but not just any human bones can be used. They must be the remains of high-ranking lamas. After death, Tibetans often practice sky burial, feeding their bodies to vultures to achieve the Buddhist realm of offering flesh to eagles. Once the flesh has become food for living beings, the bones are donated to make ritual objects.

The most commonly used bones for prayer beads are finger bones and brow bones. In Buddhism, the concept of cause and effect is important, and monks use their fingers the most when performing rituals. The eyes are the place for reading scriptures and understanding the world, so these two parts are considered the most endowed with wisdom and can be used to make ritual objects that enlighten future generations.

Prayer beads made from finger bones are relatively easy to make, usually requiring the bones of ten fingers. Brow bones are harder, so a set of prayer beads might require the brow bones of over a dozen high-ranking lamas.

Imagine a small set of prayer beads containing the cause and effect of over a dozen high-ranking lamas. For a Buddhist, this would be incredibly precious.

Moreover, the making of human bone prayer beads or ritual objects is very complex, as they are all handmade. The monks must have very high skills and polish them daily, which can take over a decade. To gather all the brow bones needed for a set of prayer beads, one would have to wait for over a dozen high-ranking lamas to pass away, so a set might take fifty to sixty years, or even a hundred years to complete.

Only prayer beads made from finger bones and brow bones can be called kapolas. Prayer beads made from other human bones, such as leg bones, are simply called human bone beads and cannot be called kapolas. Kapolas made from the bones of high-ranking lamas are extremely rare.

Due to geographical limitations, before the 1970s and 1980s, contact between Tibet and the mainland was limited, and Tibetan Buddhism was always seen as mysterious. If it weren't for the old Taoist priest's extensive travels and broad knowledge, he might not have recognized that this was a kapala made from a brow bone.

According to Fang Yi's master, this kapala contained pure mental energy and was likely made from the brow bone of a high-ranking lama or even a living Buddha. However, since Buddhism and Taoism are different paths, the old Taoist priest, though open-minded, did not want his Taoist disciple to wear a Buddhist ritual object.

Fang Yi was raised by his master from a young age and was very filial. Although he knew that this kapala was closely related to his origins, he never wore it, only occasionally taking it out to play with it in the quiet of the night.

"Come on, why are you so nervous? What haven't I seen?"

Seeing Fang Yi not allowing him to touch the pendant, the fat man exclaimed, "Fang Yi, have you been flirting with some girl while I was away in the army? Come on, is this a love token from a girl?"

Strangely, Fang Yi grew up in the mountains, sometimes following his master deep into the forest to gather herbs, often sleeping outdoors, but he had fair skin and a handsome face. Apart from the calluses on his palms, he didn't look like someone who grew up in the mountains.

When Fang Yi and the fat man were around thirteen or fourteen, the fat man and San Pao would sometimes bring village girls to play with Fang Yi. Without exception, these more mature girls would show some affection for Fang Yi, making the fat man quite jealous, leading to such remarks.

"Love token? You must be joking..."

Hearing the fat man's words, Fang Yi couldn't help but laugh and cry, "This is a ritual object called a kapala, made from human bones. Would the girls in your village give such a thing as a love token?"

"Made from human bones? Damn, why didn't you say so earlier?"

The fat man quickly withdrew his hand, hastily saying, "The old Taoist priest always deals with strange things. Hanging human bones on your body is so eerie. Keep this thing away from me..."

The fat man had also grown up with the old Taoist priest and knew that although he was a bit eccentric, he was actually a highly skilled person. The old Taoist priest had many things that ordinary people didn't understand, so he assumed the kapala was something the old Taoist priest had passed down to Fang Yi.

"You don't know anything..." Hearing the fat man's nonsense, Fang Yi couldn't help but laugh and scold him, "A kapala is made from the bones of a high-ranking lama and can ward off evil. How did it become eerie in your mouth..."

Fang Yi didn't bother to argue with the fat man, who was a chatterbox and couldn't be reasoned with. He took the kapala in his hand, carefully rubbed it, and hung it around his neck.

As the only clue to his origins, Fang Yi naturally valued the kapala greatly. In the past, he wouldn't wear it to respect his master's feelings, but now that the old Taoist priest had passed away, Fang Yi naturally wanted to keep it close.

"I, a true Taoist disciple, wearing a Buddhist ritual object, does indeed seem inappropriate..."

Feeling the coolness from the kapala on his chest, Fang Yi felt a bit uncomfortable. The reason was that the old Taoist priest had often criticized the current Buddhist community, saying they were hypocrites and that true high-ranking lamas were few and far between.

"Alright, let's go. We'll pay our respects at Master's grave and then go down the mountain..."

After putting away the kapala, Fang Yi clapped his hands. He and his master were simple people, with only a few Taoist beads and some old Taoist robes. Even the small wooden box left by his master wasn't full.

"Right, we weren't there when the old man died. We should pay our respects..."

Hearing Fang Yi's words, the fat man's attention shifted from the kapala. Although he didn't show much respect for the old Taoist priest verbally, he had eaten a lot of his food and wine and respected him deeply.

"Once I have money, I'll definitely come back to rebuild the Shangqing Temple..."

Carrying the box and walking out of the temple with the fat man, Fang Yi looked back, a hint of reluctance on his face. Although living here every day felt lonely and cold, the thought of leaving brought a sense of homesickness to his heart.

"Alright, in the future, I'll help you rebuild it, okay?"

The fat man, though rough on the outside, was actually quite thoughtful. Seeing Fang Yi's reluctance, he put an arm around his shoulder and said, "Let's go see the old man's grave. I want to see what kind of feng shui spot he chose for himself."

When the old Taoist priest was alive, he often lamented that he had the skills to choose a good feng shui spot but no descendants to benefit from it. Even if he chose a good spot, it wouldn't help future generations.

"You better not have any bad ideas..."

Seeing the fat man's eyes darting around, Fang Yi couldn't help but slap him on the head, saying, "Master set up an array. Anyone who dares to desecrate his grave will die without a proper burial. Besides, there's nothing in his grave, so don't get any ideas..."

"Hey, Fang Yi, don't accuse me. I don't have those thoughts..."

Being slapped by Fang Yi, the fat man exclaimed, "If I wanted to do that, I'd go to our own ancestors. The old Taoist priest was so poor, what good burial items could he have?"

"Alright, your ancestors are still unknown, so stop talking nonsense..."

Fang Yi laughed at the fat man's words. The fat man's surname was Wei, and his full name was Wei Jinhua. His nickname was Jin Hua, and he had fought many times over this nickname when he was young.

However, according to the fat man, their family was originally not surnamed Wei but Cao, descendants of Cao Cao from the Three Kingdoms period. After the fall of the Wei Kingdom to Sima Yan, they changed their surname to Wei to avoid trouble and moved to this small mountain village.

The fat man's words were not baseless, as their family had a genealogy that traced back to that period. The old Taoist priest had once checked the genealogy and told Fang Yi that the people in the village below were likely descendants of Cao Cao.

However, a few years ago, the village's ancestral hall caught fire, and all the genealogies were burned to ashes. This was a great loss to the fat man, who had always wanted to find the seventy-two tombs of Cao Cao. The fire had put an end to his dream.

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